Book Review: Gender Pioneers: A Celebration of Transgender, Non-Binary and Intersex Icons

Gender Pioneers: A Celebration of Transgender, Non-Binary and Intersex Icons by Philippa Punchard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m not sure I’d title this book a ‘celebration’. To me it’s more a ‘recognition’ of transgender, non-binary and intersex people that you may not have heard about before. Each person has a mini-biography and an artistic portrait to help bring them to life. The mini-biographies are quite short, but contain all the pertinent facts about the person’s situation, and the years they were alive.

I would recommend this book as a research springboard. Once you’re introduced to someone you want to know more about, you’ll need to take your research to other sources to learn more. As long as you understand that, it isn’t a bad thing! You can’t know what you don’t know, and you can’t fully research the topic without at least being introduced to notable people. As a research tool, it might have been a good idea to arrange these biographies in date order, for those who are looking for information at a certain point in history.

My thanks to author Philippa Punchard, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital advance review copy of this book. This review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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